There is no prescribed path, no blueprint Mike Hargrove can give Joe Gibbs. Dealing with death in sports is not in any coaching manual. In the aftermath of the shooting death of Pro Bowl safety Sean Taylor, Gibbs has to pull his shattered team together and get the Washington Redskins ready to play a game in four days. "All of us here are going to work together, go forward together, and I think each person here has to deal with it in his own way," Gibbs said during a news conference at the team's practice facility in Ashburn, Va., yesterday.

Et cetera Maryland men's lacrosse attackman Benjamin Chisolm was cleared in a Virginia sexual assault case Thursday after being accused of molesting a woman at a concert, Chisolm's lawyer said. Prosecutors dropped the felony sex assault charge against Chisolm and a judge cleared him of assault after a brief bench trial, according to the attorney. But Chisolm was found guilty of being drunk in public and received a fine and community service. Chisolm and the woman were at a Zac Brown Band concert at the Jiffy Lube Live venue in June and she had fallen asleep.

Et cetera Maryland men's lacrosse attackman Benjamin Chisolm was cleared in a Virginia sexual assault case Thursday after being accused of molesting a woman at a concert, Chisolm's lawyer said. Prosecutors dropped the felony sex assault charge against Chisolm and a judge cleared him of assault after a brief bench trial, according to the attorney. But Chisolm was found guilty of being drunk in public and received a fine and community service. Chisolm and the woman were at a Zac Brown Band concert at the Jiffy Lube Live venue in June and she had fallen asleep.

Laurel Park Four stakes winners featured in Saturday's Miracle Wood Stakes The $100,000 Miracle Wood Stakes, one of four stakes on Saturday's nine-race program at Laurel Park, will feature four 3-year-old stakes winners - Extrasexyhippzter (5-2), Joint Custody (3-1), Jessethemarine (7-2) and Germaniac (6-1) - facing runners from the Todd Pletcher , John Servis and King Leatherbury barns in the 1-mile test. Joint Custody has won four races for trainer Jerry Robb after six starts, including the Marylander Stakes and the Maryland Juvenile Championship.

I could be wrong, but I can't imagine an opposing player running up to Tony Dungy, yapping about his players, and seeing Dungy blowing kisses in response. Yet another reason the Ravens' conspiracy theories came off as so preposterous: The last thing the NFL wants is the continued perception that only one team has a chance to win the Super Bowl. For $25,000, Bart Scott must be thinking: The flag's making it all the way into the stands next time. Strange how a certain worldwide-leading sports network brings out its "legal analysts" when an athlete (Barry Bonds, Michael Vick, Adam "Pacman" Jones, Tank Johnson)

Sean Taylor dies nearly every single day in Baltimore. Tragic. Senseless. Wasted promise and stolen potential. No, he's not usually a professional football player with an enviable bank account. But he is usually young, black and the victim of a crime. Last Monday, in his Palmetto Bay, Fla., home, his name was Sean Taylor. At the exact time Taylor was shot by an intruder, in Baltimore, his name was Michael Crowder, a 33-year-old man who was found unresponsive not far from his Coppin Heights home.

Women's college basketball Terps ' Frese wins WBCA Region 2 honor Brenda Frese of the Maryland women's basketball team was named Women's Basketball Coaches Association Region 2 Coach of the Year on Thursday. The honor makes her one of eight finalists for WBCA Division I Coach of the Year as voted by her peers. Frese and the second-seeded Terrapins (30-4) will take on third-seeded Texas A&M (24-10) in the NCAA tournament's Raleigh Regional semifinal Sunday at 12:04 p.m. The game will be shown on ESPN.

TAMPA, Fla.-- --So, there's got to be a reason why the Redskins' defense was able to begin a playoff game - the team's first in six years - on the road without one of its cornerbacks, lose a defensive lineman to a broken arm, lose its free safety to a stupid ejection and still end up giddily bouncing with glee on the sidelines as time expired. "We have a motto: Everybody's a starter," said strong safety Ryan Clark, a member of the defense that yesterday stitched itself together, locked down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and punched its team's ticket to Seattle next week.

Phoenix -- There's something very big missing from the New England Patriots' march to a perfect season. Not praise from their peers. Not skepticism about their legitimacy. Not admiration for Tom Brady or wariness about Bill Belichick - or a businesslike approach or a joy about where they are. What is missing is their 6-foot-6, 300-pound teammate, backup defensive end Marquise Hill. And the Patriots feel the absence as strongly as they do any other aspect of this journey. They see it, too, in his locker preserved at their practice facility and at Gillette Stadium.

LANDOVER-- --If you're old enough, the scene at FedEx Field yesterday brought back memories of tragedies past, sports and otherwise. So as they made their way toward the Washington Redskins' first game since the killing of Sean Taylor, fans in their 30s, 40s and beyond recalled how similarly shocking and sickening the feeling had been more than 21 years earlier when they awoke to the news of Len Bias' death. Many of those fans were on their way to, or already in front of, the memorial to Taylor near the entrance to the team's stadium apparel store.

Women's college basketball Terps ' Frese wins WBCA Region 2 honor Brenda Frese of the Maryland women's basketball team was named Women's Basketball Coaches Association Region 2 Coach of the Year on Thursday. The honor makes her one of eight finalists for WBCA Division I Coach of the Year as voted by her peers. Frese and the second-seeded Terrapins (30-4) will take on third-seeded Texas A&M (24-10) in the NCAA tournament's Raleigh Regional semifinal Sunday at 12:04 p.m. The game will be shown on ESPN.

Phoenix -- There's something very big missing from the New England Patriots' march to a perfect season. Not praise from their peers. Not skepticism about their legitimacy. Not admiration for Tom Brady or wariness about Bill Belichick - or a businesslike approach or a joy about where they are. What is missing is their 6-foot-6, 300-pound teammate, backup defensive end Marquise Hill. And the Patriots feel the absence as strongly as they do any other aspect of this journey. They see it, too, in his locker preserved at their practice facility and at Gillette Stadium.

I could be wrong, but I can't imagine an opposing player running up to Tony Dungy, yapping about his players, and seeing Dungy blowing kisses in response. Yet another reason the Ravens' conspiracy theories came off as so preposterous: The last thing the NFL wants is the continued perception that only one team has a chance to win the Super Bowl. For $25,000, Bart Scott must be thinking: The flag's making it all the way into the stands next time. Strange how a certain worldwide-leading sports network brings out its "legal analysts" when an athlete (Barry Bonds, Michael Vick, Adam "Pacman" Jones, Tank Johnson)

MIAMI -- She spent most of the ceremony running back and forth in front of the casket, wreaths and flowers. Wearing a crimson and white dress with shiny black shoes, 18-month-old Jacqueline Garcia treated the gym floor yesterday at Pharmed Arena as if it were a playground. She was unaware of why thousands gathered here to tell some of their favorite memories about her father, Sean Taylor. Those stories will have to be retold one day to her because she has little recollection of a parent she barely got to know.

LANDOVER-- --If you're old enough, the scene at FedEx Field yesterday brought back memories of tragedies past, sports and otherwise. So as they made their way toward the Washington Redskins' first game since the killing of Sean Taylor, fans in their 30s, 40s and beyond recalled how similarly shocking and sickening the feeling had been more than 21 years earlier when they awoke to the news of Len Bias' death. Many of those fans were on their way to, or already in front of, the memorial to Taylor near the entrance to the team's stadium apparel store.

Sean Taylor dies nearly every single day in Baltimore. Tragic. Senseless. Wasted promise and stolen potential. No, he's not usually a professional football player with an enviable bank account. But he is usually young, black and the victim of a crime. Last Monday, in his Palmetto Bay, Fla., home, his name was Sean Taylor. At the exact time Taylor was shot by an intruder, in Baltimore, his name was Michael Crowder, a 33-year-old man who was found unresponsive not far from his Coppin Heights home.

Laurel Park Four stakes winners featured in Saturday's Miracle Wood Stakes The $100,000 Miracle Wood Stakes, one of four stakes on Saturday's nine-race program at Laurel Park, will feature four 3-year-old stakes winners - Extrasexyhippzter (5-2), Joint Custody (3-1), Jessethemarine (7-2) and Germaniac (6-1) - facing runners from the Todd Pletcher , John Servis and King Leatherbury barns in the 1-mile test. Joint Custody has won four races for trainer Jerry Robb after six starts, including the Marylander Stakes and the Maryland Juvenile Championship.

There is no prescribed path, no blueprint Mike Hargrove can give Joe Gibbs. Dealing with death in sports is not in any coaching manual. In the aftermath of the shooting death of Pro Bowl safety Sean Taylor, Gibbs has to pull his shattered team together and get the Washington Redskins ready to play a game in four days. "All of us here are going to work together, go forward together, and I think each person here has to deal with it in his own way," Gibbs said during a news conference at the team's practice facility in Ashburn, Va., yesterday.